A longtime big seller gets better still
By Ari Weinzweig
Long before we started working with local heirloom grains and doing so much fresh milling, the Bakehouse breads and pastries were already awesome! The improvements just made an already fantastic set of products better still. (I’ve got a beautiful loaf of Roadhouse bread sitting on my counter at home right now as evidence of the upgrade!) That same pattern of improvement—taking something that’s already been awesome for ages and upgrading it even further still—is just what’s happened at the Roadhouse since we switched our pork source to a Michigan farm that raises heritage breed Red Wattle hogs.
If you, like many locals and out-of-town visitors alike, love Southern barbecue, you will almost certainly be really pleased to hear that the always excellent pulled pork at the Roadhouse just got notably better! I had a bite about half an hour ago as prep for writing this piece and its richness, complex flavor, and super long finish are still lingering in the loveliest of ways. I don’t generally consume a whole lot of meat, but the flavor of the new Red Wattle pork is so good I’m eager to eat more!
The story behind Red Wattle hogs
While it’s very clear that the flavor of the Roadhouse’s pulled pork is markedly better than its already excellent quality was for over 20 years now, the early history of Red Wattle hogs is rather murky. There are a range of different origin stories out there—some say they made their way up from Mexico while others argue they came from the island of New Caledonia off the coast of Australia. However they got here, they were quite popular for centuries, but as the modern hog market began to demand fattier hogs, they fell out of favor. So much so that they almost disappeared.
There aren’t that many Red Wattles around these days, so securing this new source is no small thing. A hog survey done in 1990 showed fewer than 300 Red Wattles in the U.S. Ten years later, the count was below 50. Today the Red Wattle is making a comeback with counts over 2000. It’s now listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste, through which it’s getting the attention it deserves from lovers of full-flavored traditional food (like us!). Happily, Roadhouse head chef Bob Bennett found a Michigan farmer who had fallen in love with this old breed. I’m deeply appreciative of his efforts.The hogs raised at Bailey Terra Nova Farm in Kalamazoo are done so with special care under a strict code of health and husbandry, free of hormones, antibiotics and animal by-products. As I said above, the pork is even more full-flavored and complex than the already great pork we’ve been getting for so many years!
How to enjoy our pit-smoked pork!
You can order it up at the Roadhouse as a sandwich, on an entrée platter, or in a Texas Breakfast Taco. Or join the ever-growing list of folks around town who are ordering pulled pork, fried chicken, ribs, and a host of other great dishes from the Roadhouse Catering crew for parties of all sizes! Insider tip—ask for some pulled pork on the next burger you order!